This bilateral gateway status is part of one of the more intriguing foreign visits to Australia in recent years. Prince Ermias – his full name is His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie – is retracing the steps of his grandfather, Emperor Haile-Selassie, near the 50th anniversary of a state visit to Australia in 1968.

Recent events in Ethiopia and the amping-up of ethnicist politics (instigated by the ruling party's long time philosophy) has greatly enhanced the stature of Ethiopia's monarchy and nostalgia for it. I am feeling more and more hopeful for it's prospects. Of course there are still plenty of vile detractors...__________________The Lion of Judah hath prevailed.

Ethiopia stretches her hands unto God (Quote from Psalm 68 which served as the Imperial Motto of the Ethiopian Empire)

"God and history shall remember your judgment." (Quote from Emperor Haile Selassie I's speech to the League of Nations to plead for assistance against the Italian Invasion, 1936.)

As I can only discover on social media. A lot of anti-Ethiopian crap is spread by Eritrean and Somali nationalists with a warped view of history.

They are not alone. Various other separatists are busy spreading this foul philosophy. At its root is vile Marxist-Leninism, a virus that contaminated an entire generation and which is finally dying off as its intrinsic evil is becoming plain for all to see.__________________The Lion of Judah hath prevailed.

Ethiopia stretches her hands unto God (Quote from Psalm 68 which served as the Imperial Motto of the Ethiopian Empire)

"God and history shall remember your judgment." (Quote from Emperor Haile Selassie I's speech to the League of Nations to plead for assistance against the Italian Invasion, 1936.)

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie's trip to Australia was quite a resounding success. The Prince met with Prime Minister Turnbull and members of parliament, but also attended events held by the Ethiopian community in Australia. What I found especially heartening was the reverential reception he received from the Ethiopian community at large, and the fact that the the Ethiopian Ambassador received him respectfully as well.

I was very surprised and pleased to see Prince Ermias received on such a high level. You could almost allow yourself to think there was still an Emperor on the throne and the Prince was representing a ruling monarch. It was particularly interesting to read that he held an event with the Ethiopian ambassador, although one shouldn't read too much into this.

I was however somewhat upset to see repeated the suggestions that Prince Ermias is the pretender to the throne, or, more nebulously, the Crown Council's tenuous (at best) stance that the succession to the throne is yet to be determined. It is not-- the heir to the throne is Crown Prince Zera Yacob as per the 1955 Constitution and his designation as such by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1973. What is the current status of affairs between Prince Ermias and Crown Prince Zera Yacob? There is precious little information about the Crown Prince's recent activities available online.

I appreciate the work of Prince Ermias, but I would like to see a greater role for the other members of the Imperial Family as well. There are countless organizations that could stand to benefit from royal patronage; for instance I know Princess Mariam Senna heads a heritage preservation society, so groups like the Ethiopian Heritage Fund (which has done great work) and Design Week Addis Ababa could be good fits. The exploits of "Prince" Aklile-Berhan Makonnen prove that the aura of royalty still holds sway over Ethiopians and can and investors, making them ideal for such roles. Western-educated, they would make great contact points with donors both in Ethiopia and abroad. This would be an excellent way to raise the profile of the Imperial Family, and with it the imperial institution, amongst Ethiopians as opposed to a few members. A good example might be Le'ul Ras Mengesha Seyoum, who holds immense respect amongst Tigrayans.

Anyway, Ato Samuel, I want to commend you for your work in chronicling the history and present work of the Ethiopian monarchy, and I'm eager to keep current about goings-on in the Imperial Family.

Originally Posted by EthiomonarchistRecent events in Ethiopia and the amping-up of ethnicist politics (instigated by the ruling party's long time philosophy) has greatly enhanced the stature of Ethiopia's monarchy and nostalgia for it. I am feeling more and more hopeful for it's prospects. Of course there are still plenty of vile detractors...

The somewhat off-putting thing about this is that veneration of monarchs often seems divided on ethnic/regionals lines: Gonderes talk up Tewodros, Tigrayans Yohannes, and Shewans Menelik, although I think Menelik does have a more pan-Ethiopian appeal aside from certain nationalist Oromos (encouraged at times by the government, as the shameful "genocide" memorial at Anole demonstrates). Haile Selassie seems a more polarizing figure. This problem is exacerbated by the proliferation of dubiously-credentialled "academics" peddling grossly distorted ethnocentric "histories", leading to mass disinformation not unlike what's going on here in the United States.

The somewhat off-putting thing about this is that veneration of monarchs often seems divided on ethnic/regionals lines: Gonderes talk up Tewodros, Tigrayans Yohannes, and Shewans Menelik, although I think Menelik does have a more pan-Ethiopian appeal aside from certain nationalist Oromos (encouraged at times by the government, as the shameful "genocide" memorial at Anole demonstrates). Haile Selassie seems a more polarizing figure. This problem is exacerbated by the proliferation of dubiously-credentialled "academics" peddling grossly distorted ethnocentric "histories", leading to mass disinformation not unlike what's going on here in the United States.

The ethinic based veneration of certain monarchs is a result of the ethnicist policies that have been promoted since 1991. It is reprehensable. All of Ethiopia's monarchs thought of themselves as Ethiopian, not Gonderine, Tigrean, Shewan etc. I am confident this will end when the policy goes to it's inevitable death. They simply can't run a multi-ethinic country by pitching people against each other for long.

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I was however somewhat upset to see repeated the suggestions that Prince Ermias is the pretender to the throne, or, more nebulously, the Crown Council's tenuous (at best) stance that the succession to the throne is yet to be determined. It is not-- the heir to the throne is Crown Prince Zera Yacob as per the 1955 Constitution and his designation as such by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1973. What is the current status of affairs between Prince Ermias and Crown Prince Zera Yacob? There is precious little information about the Crown Prince's recent activities available online.

I appreciate the work of Prince Ermias, but I would like to see a greater role for the other members of the Imperial Family as well. There are countless organizations that could stand to benefit from royal patronage; for instance I know Princess Mariam Senna heads a heritage preservation society, so groups like the Ethiopian Heritage Fund (which has done great work) and Design Week Addis Ababa could be good fits. The exploits of "Prince" Aklile-Berhan Makonnen prove that the aura of royalty still holds sway over Ethiopians and can and investors, making them ideal for such roles. Western-educated, they would make great contact points with donors both in Ethiopia and abroad. This would be an excellent way to raise the profile of the Imperial Family, and with it the imperial institution, amongst Ethiopians as opposed to a few members. A good example might be Le'ul Ras Mengesha Seyoum, who holds immense respect amongst Tigrayans.

The Crown Council does recognize Crown Prince Zera Yacob as the head of the Imperial family. However His Imperial Highness is virtually invisible as he lives a very low key life in Ethiopia. The recent death of his long time companion after she had suffered from cancer for some years, has made him even less visible. I do not think we will get much public monarchist activity from him in the future sadly. The next in line is the Duke of Harrar, his brothers and nephews (he and his brother Prince Michael are childless, and Prince Beide Mariam only has daughters so the nephews (sons of the late Prince Dawit, and the son of Prince Taffari are effectively the future), followed by Prince Ermias and his twin boys. You may have seen in the "weddings" section here that Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen (5th in line according to the 1955 succession rules) got married in Washington DC last weekend, and that his wedding garnered a great deal of attention and curiosity from the community as the younger generation of Princes and Princesses took a more public profile. It was a wonderful show of unity as every branch and much of the nobility was represented at that wedding. There were lots of pictures posted on Facebook too that you might enjoy looking through.

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Anyway, Ato Samuel, I want to commend you for your work in chronicling the history and present work of the Ethiopian monarchy, and I'm eager to keep current about goings-on in the Imperial Family.

Thank you very much, although my name is Solomon, __________________The Lion of Judah hath prevailed.

Ethiopia stretches her hands unto God (Quote from Psalm 68 which served as the Imperial Motto of the Ethiopian Empire)

"God and history shall remember your judgment." (Quote from Emperor Haile Selassie I's speech to the League of Nations to plead for assistance against the Italian Invasion, 1936.)

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